search austin homes: Home Mortgage Update for Fall 2010- quick overview of new mortgage requirements! - 10/05/10 09:16 AM
As you know the home mortgage industry is constantly changing. Right now we have historically low interest rates, so the time to buy a home is now if you want to take advantage of these fantastic rates. Here are a few changes I just received from one of my favorite lenders, Joseph Krupp. While they are not huge changes, they can impact you at closing. Closing day is stressfull enough for most first time homebuyers. Here are some things to know before you go to closing. Be prepared!
- October 15th is the last day a borrower can file his/her income … (9 comments)
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search austin homes: Betina's Green Living Tips #2 from your south Austin Realtor - 02/28/10 05:23 PM
Betina's Green Living Tips#2
Reduce what you consume. Now I don't mean go on a diet, I mean reduce your households consumption. You can do this in a multitude of ways every day. The little things add up and have a real impact. Here are a few tips to reduce your homes trash and help make the planet a little greener!
•1. Buy items like dish soap, laundry soap, shampoo, and paper products in bulk. This reduces the amount of packaging you bring into your home.
•2. Buy products that are made from recycled materials. Paper towels are almost always available … (2 comments)
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search austin homes: Green Living Tips #1 from your south Austin Realtor - 02/28/10 05:13 PM
Living Green Post #1
Tips For Living Greener
Recycle everything that comes into your home. You will be amazed at how many items you use in daily life can be recycled. If you don't have the option of recycling in your neighborhood check for local facilities that will allow you to drop your recycled items at their site. There are some companies that will pay you for your recycle items. The Environmental Protection Association estimates that about 75% of the waste produced in the USA is recyclable.
Aluminum Cans-Many communities have aluminum recycling as part of the normal trash … (0 comments)
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search austin homes: Are you looking for an adventure? Do you like surprises and scavenger hunts? If the answer is yes you have to read this! - 12/02/09 08:36 AM
Are you looking for an adventure? Do you like surprises and scavenger hunts? If the answer is yes you have to read this! Great Escape Adventure is hosting a worldwide scavenger hunt. This will be the 6th annual world-wide scavenger hunt. For a mere $9,900 you can participate in the fun and excitement of this globe trotting adventure. As usual participants don't find out the mystery destinations until the challenge begins. This event is a 23 day adventure visiting ten countries. The scavenger hunt begins April 9th and ends May 1, 2010. Your entry fee covers your airfare, first class hotels and … (6 comments)
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search austin homes: Cherrywood Art Fair in Austin TX December 12-13, 2009 - 11/25/09 05:47 PM
Austin Texas is full of fun events showcasing over eighty local Austin artists. All media are represented: oil paintings, watercolors, pottery, mixed media, clothing, accessories, jewelery and more! The Cherrywood Art Fair is December 12-13 from 10-6 and admission is FREE! There will be: Live Music, children's art activities and artist demos, WonderCraft Workshops and a huge Silent Auction! Joe McDermott and Colin Gilmore will be performing live along with many other musicians!
There will be food from: Pie Fixes Everything, Lucious Pastry, Innocent Chocolate, Mmmpanada, and Travelling Burrito!
Location: Maplewood Elementary at 38 1/2Street and Maplewood Avenue.
For more information please visit: www.CherrywoodArtFair.org
… (6 comments)
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search austin homes: Something you don't see everyday in Austin; a dinosaur skeleton on the street. - 11/20/09 12:55 PM
OK maybe this qualifies for a Freaky Friday post. While in the car on 4th Street in Austin I saw a dinosaur skeleton on wheels being propelled down the street by a five guys on bikes inside the skeleton. If you look closely you can just make them out inside the ribcage. You had to see it to believe it. Regrettably I was not faster with the camera, so it does not show the entire skeleton. There are several art studios in the area and I can only assume it must be a work in progress.
If … (12 comments)
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search austin homes: Once again Austin Texas is in the top five list of places people want to live! - 10/08/09 04:27 PM
According to the Business Journal, Texas is ranked as number four in the top ten states to live in. Of course if you asked a native Texan they would say Texas is the only state to live in! We have a little bit of everything for everybody: beaches, deserts, mountains, big cities, and small towns. Texas is home to both NASA, cowboys and everything in between. If you can't find what you want in Texas, you are just not looking hard enough! Austin Texas is consistantly in every top ten list of places that people want to move to.
Monday, October 5, 2009, 3:00pm … (6 comments)
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search austin homes: Winterizing your Austin home- Tips to prepare for the cold wet weather to come. - 10/05/09 10:54 AM
As a native Texan I have worn shorts on Christmas more often than not. However in Austin we do get some cold weather. Typically we get more freezing sleet and ice than real snow. So I am providing some tips to help you prepare for the upcoming in-climate weather.
Caulk around your windows and doors to seal up any gaps. This will prevent the warmed air from escaping and keep the cold air out of your home. Insulate you hot water heater. There are thermal blankets available at Lowe's and Home Depot and they are very inexpensive. Clean out the gutters on … (3 comments)
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search austin homes: Texas home cooking: Nana's Shrimp Cassarole - 10/03/09 11:03 AM
Yesterday I wrote a post about growing up in Clear Lake, a suburb of Houston Texas. We were 15 minutes from the beach and moments from several great seafood restaurants. However nothing from a restaurant compares to Nana'shome cooked shrimp casserole!
Ingredients:
1 chopped sweet yellow onion
1-2 cloves garlic diced
2 slices cubed bread
1 cup chopped bell pepper
1/4 cup milk
2-3 tablespoons real butter
2 pounds of shrimp
1 can Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup
2 TBS fresh lemon juice
1/2 TSP cayenne pepper
1/4 TSP White pepper
1/4 TSP Black pepper
1 TBS Chopped Cilantro
3 cups cooked … (3 comments)
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search austin homes: Memories of growing up on the Texas coast - 10/02/09 10:13 AM
As a fifth generation Texan, I have deep ties to this great state. I love being a native Texan, and apparently with the influx of people moving here we may become an endangered species! LOL I want to share one of my favorite childhood memories with you. Growing up on the Gulf Coast was wonderful.
Sometimes on the weekends my grandparents would take us to go "crabbing". Nana would stop by "The Colenal's" and get a bucket of fried chicken for us to have for lunch. Then we would head for the marshy parts of Galveston to collect crabs.
This was a … (14 comments)
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search austin homes: Good news about the recovering real estate market in Austin Texas! - 09/24/09 10:25 AM
My friend Tracy Blair at Gracy Title just shared some good news with me. The news is about how the economy is recovering. We are making our way out of the recession slowly but surely. There is light at the end of the tunnel and the end is near! While the national real estate market has seriously slowed, the Austin Texas home market has only seen a slight drop in closed home sales. Now is a great time to buy a home in Austin. Many homeowners are now choosing to move up to a larger home to take advantage of the increased … (20 comments)
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search austin homes: Darling Austin home for sale in the coveted 78704! - 09/12/09 03:25 PM
I have a new listing in the much sought after 78704 zip code. For those of you in Austin you know 78704 is the hip zip that everyone wants. It is close to downtown and parts of this zip code even have views of downtown or the Capitol.
This lovely home is petite at 1158square feet, but it has been remodeled with a great open floor-plan. The two bedrooms and two bathrooms feel more spacious that you would think. There are three living areas and a formal dining room. The updates include new kitchen and bamboo floors throughout. The .22 acre … (4 comments)
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search austin homes: Trail Bandits are destroying Barton Creek Greenbelt! - 08/09/09 11:16 AM
Barton Creek Greenbelt was created many years ago to provide Austinites with a multitude of trails to walk, hike and bike around Austin. Since the beginning there have been a few people cutting out rogue trails in the park at the southwest corner of HWY360 and South MOPAC. Right now there are about 65 miles of trails and about 63% of them are not legal or not created by the parks department. The Austin Parks and Recreation Department maintains all of the authorized trails in the Austin parks.
For many years they have tried to protect the unauthorized trails from use by roping off … (4 comments)
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search austin homes: Barton Springs Trees are saved with a little help from these friends... - 07/31/09 09:47 AM
Many of you have heard by now that many of Barton Springs trees are in danger and a few have been classified as "dangerous and neeedd to be removed". They have removed only eight trees instead of the twenty-eight originally marked for removal. It has been a well publicized debate with the people of Austin and the powers that be. Thank heavens the Austin Parks Foundation has been able to garner some more support from various individuals and several businesses. The money that has been raised will allow for these remaining trees to be cared for in a way that will allow them … (4 comments)
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search austin homes: Senna Hills neighborhood in Bee Cave, market statistics and history - 07/28/09 03:18 PM
Senna Hills is a little neighborhood between Austin and Bee Cave. Bee Cavewas originally started back in 1850's when Deitrich Bohls moved from the hustle and bustle of Austin. Many of his descendants still live in and own homes and land in and around Austin. During the building boom of the 1980's the residents were concerned that they would get annexed. So they formed a group called "The Concerned Citizens and Land Owners Organization. Then they went to the state capital and stated their cause, thus Bee Cave was incorporated. This area has continued to be popular with both families and retired … (0 comments)
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search austin homes: Market Statistics for Austin Texas homes sold in the Lake Pointe neighborhood in May 2009. - 07/18/09 10:34 AM
Here are the monthly market statistics for home sales in the Lake Pointe subdivision of Austin Texasin May 2009. Lake Pointe is a very desirable neighborhood in Austin Texas. This neighborhood is very sought after because of its much loved schools and close proximity to Lake Travis and downtown Austin Texas. Prices range from affordable at $285K-to magnificent $700K.
The typical home used for these statistics is: 3-4 bedroom, 2+ bathroom home, built from 1990-2003. There were 32 homes Actively listed for sale, and six home were Pending/Under contract, and four homes sold in May 2009 in this neighborhood. Below please find … (0 comments)
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search austin homes: Market Statistics for home sales in Lake Pointe subdivision of Austin TX for April 2009. - 07/17/09 06:28 PM
Here are the market statistics for the Lake Pointe subdivision for April 2009. Lake Pointe is a desirable neighborhood in Austin Texas. My typical home used for these statistics is: 3-4 bedroom, 2+ bathroom home, built from 1990-2003. There were 23 homes listed Actively for sale during April. Three homes closed or were sold that month. One home was listed at $108.40 per square foot and it sold well above asking price at $111.18 per square foot. This neighborhood is very sought after because of its schools and close proximity to Lake Travis and downtown Austin Texas. Prices range from affordable … (2 comments)
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search austin homes: Lake Pointe keeps calling to me - 07/14/09 09:08 AM
Often we have pondered the possibility of buying a home closer to the lake. We rationalize it by saying if we are living closer to Lake Travis, we will go sailing more. Our sailboat sits on Lake Travis waiting for us in vain more often than not each weekend. So moving closer sounds reasonable right? My sister in law lives and works in the Uplands, which is closer to the lake. They go skiing a lot and love living in the Uplands. Now this is a great neighborhood, but the 4000+SF homes on one acre lots are just too much for … (0 comments)
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search austin homes: It is raining at my house right now & I could not be happier! - 06/30/09 10:15 AM
As many of you know central Texas has been in a drought for a few years now. The grass is brown and the trees are stressed and some are even dying. Today I woke up to the sound of thunder. I swear I had almost forgotten what it sounds like! So I came out on the back porch with my coffee to enjoy the wave of cool air that this thunderstorm brought. My back porch was a blissful 74 degrees!! For the last week our temperatures have been ranging from 90-108 everyday.
We have not had any appreciable rain in well over two … (5 comments)
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search austin homes: Good news for Green advocates, electronic recycling options - 06/30/09 09:05 AM
Have you upgraded you computer or monitor lately? Need to know what to do with the old TV, now that you have the new fancy Hi-Def flat panel? There are more new companies that want to help consumers recycle your old electronics. Dell computer was one of the first to offer electronics recycling. If you buy a new pc or laptop from Dell, they will accept your old pc or laptop (any brand) to recycle at no charge. There are now 206 locations in 45 states where you can drop off your old Zenith and Gold Star brand products that have reached … (7 comments)
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